Lens moving apparatus, and camera module and portable device including same

ABSTRACT

One embodiment of a lens driving device comprises: a housing supporting a first magnet; a bobbin provided on the inside of the first magnet, provided with a first coil on an outer peripheral surface thereof, and moving within the housing; a base disposed at the bottom of the bobbin; an upper elastic member provided at the top of the bobbin; and a supporting member disposed on a side surface of the housing, and having the bottom thereof coupled to the base, wherein a portion of the top of the supporting member may be coupled to the upper elastic member.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/741,114, filed Dec. 29, 2017; which is the U.S. national stageapplication of International Patent Application No. PCT/KR2016/007006,filed Jun. 30, 2016; which claims priority to Korean Application Nos.10-2015-0092714, filed Jun. 30, 2015; and 10-2015-0110871, filed Aug. 6,2015; all of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments relate to a lens moving apparatus, a camera module includingthe lens moving apparatus and a portable device including the lensmoving apparatus.

BACKGROUND ART

The disclosure of this section is intended to merely provide backgroundinformation relating to the embodiments and does not necessarilyconstitute the related art.

Recently, information technology products such as cellular phones, smartphones, tablet PCs and notebook PCs, in which ultracompact digitalcameras are incorporated, are being actively developed.

A camera module mounted in a small-sized electronic product, such as asmart phone, may be frequently subjected to shocks during use. Inaddition, the camera module may minutely shake due to the trembling of auser's hand while taking a photography. Therefore, there is an urgentnecessity for technology capable of installing an optical imagestabilizer in the camera module.

When a device, an element or the like, which is required to realize suchhandshake correction, is subjected to external shocks, the component maybe separated from a camera module or a lens moving apparatus included inthe camera module, thereby causing breakage, malfunction or the like ofthe camera module. Accordingly, there is a need to mend the problem.

It is difficult to adopt voice coil motor (VCM) technology, which istypically used in conventional camera modules, for use in anultracompact camera module, which aims at achieving low powerconsumption, and thus research regarding the technology has beenactively undertaken.

A lens moving apparatus of a camera module may include a base and aprinted circuit board for controlling the base. The printed circuitboard of the les moving apparatus of the camera module may be bent by 90degrees at opposite ends thereof, and may be attached to the base. Here,there is a problem in that the printed circuit board is raised up fromthe base during the attachment procedure.

In addition, when an adhesive member is provided on surfaces of theprinted circuit board and the base that come into contact with eachother in a surface-contact manner, to overcome this problem, there is anadditional problem in that the adhesive member flows into a mountingrecess during the attachment between the printed circuit board and thebase.

TECHNICAL OBJECT

Accordingly, embodiments relate to a lens moving apparatus in which adevice, parts and the like for fulfilling a handshake correctionfunction are firmly coupled with each other, and a camera moduleincluding the lens moving apparatus.

An object of the embodiments is to provide a lens moving apparatusdesigned to inhibit a printed circuit board from being raised up from abase, and a camera module including the lens moving apparatus.

In addition, another object of the embodiments is to provide a lensmoving apparatus, which is provided with a base including a steppedportion for accommodating an adhesive member leaking from between aprinted circuit board and the base in a procedure of attaching theprinted circuit board to the base, and a camera module including thelens moving apparatus.

The technical goal to be accomplished by the embodiments is not limitedto the above-mentioned technical goal, and other technical goals, whichare not mentioned above, will be apparently understood by one ofordinary skill in the art to which the embodiments belong.

Technical Solution

An embodiment of a lens moving apparatus includes a housing forsupporting a first magnet, a bobbin disposed in the first magnet andprovided at an outer circumferential surface thereof with a first coil,the bobbin moving in the housing, a base disposed under the bobbin, anupper elastic member disposed on the bobbin, and a support memberdisposed at a lateral side surface of the housing and coupled at a lowerside thereof to the base, wherein a portion of an upper side of thesupport member is coupled with the upper elastic member.

Another embodiment of a lens moving apparatus includes a first lensdrive unit including a bobbin which is provided therein with at leastone lens and is provided on an outer circumferential surface thereofwith a first coil, a first magnet disposed around the bobbin so as toface the first coil, a housing for supporting the first magnet, andupper and lower elastic members, coupled with the bobbin and thehousing, so as to move the bobbin in a first direction parallel to anoptical axis by interaction between the first magnet and the first coil,and a second lens drive unit including a base disposed to be spacedapart from the first lens drive unit by a predetermined distance, aplurality of support members for supporting the housing while allowingthe housing to move in second and third directions, perpendicular to thefirst direction, with respect to the base, a second coil disposed toface the first magnet, and a circuit board bonded to one surface of thebase by means of an adhesive, so as to move the housing in the secondand third directions by interaction between the first magnet and thesecond coil, wherein the base further includes a mounting recess inwhich a spring unit is disposed, the mounting recess including a steppedportion providing a space for accommodating an adhesive member.

Advantageous Effects

According to an embodiment, there is an effect of being able to enhancethe coupling strength between a support member and a housing by forminga through hole in a region of the support member to which the housing isbonded, and bonding the support member to the housing by means of anadhesive.

In addition, according to an embodiment, there is an effect of providinga lens moving apparatus designed to inhibit a printed circuit board frombeing raised up from a base, and a camera module including the lensmoving apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a lens moving apparatusaccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the lens movingapparatus according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating support members according tothe embodiment, which is disposed on a housing;

FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating the support member according to theembodiment;

FIG. 5 is a front view illustrating the support member according to theembodiment, which is disposed on the housing;

FIG. 6 is an fragmentary perspective view illustrating the supportmember according to the embodiment, which is disposed on the housing;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating an embodiment of portion A of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating another embodiment of portion A of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective illustrating a lens moving apparatusaccording to another embodiment;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the lens movingapparatus according to the embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating a base, a printed circuit board andsecond coils, according to the embodiment;

FIGS. 12a and 12b are views illustrating various embodiments of astepped portion of the base of the lens moving apparatus according tothe embodiment;

FIGS. 13a and 13b are view illustrating embodiments of the steppedportion of the lens moving apparatus according to the embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a view illustrating the second coils, the printed circuitboard and the base of the lens moving apparatus according to theembodiment;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a portable device according to anembodiment; and

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of the portable device shown in FIG. 15. FIG.1 illustrates a top perspective view of a light-emitting element packageaccording to an embodiment.

BEST MODE

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to theattached drawings. Since the embodiments may be altered in various ways,specific embodiments illustrated in the drawings will be described indetail. However, the embodiments should not be construed as beinglimited only to the specific embodiments set forth herein, but should beunderstood to cover all modifications, equivalents or alternativesfalling within the idea and technical scope of the disclosure. The sizesand shapes of elements shown in the drawings may be exaggerated forclarity and convenience of explanation.

It will be understood that although the terms “first”, “second”, etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements shouldnot be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguishone element from another element. In addition, it should be understoodthat terms that are particularly defined in consideration ofconstruction and operation of the embodiments are intended to explainthe embodiments and should not be construed as limiting the scope of theembodiments.

In the following description of the embodiments, it will be understoodthat, when an element is referred to as being formed “on” or “under” theanother element, it can be directly “on” or “under” the other element,or can be indirectly disposed with one or more intervening elementstherebetween. In addition, it will also be understood that “on” or“under” the element may mean an upward direction or a downward directionbased on the element.

In addition, the relative terms “top/upper/above”, “bottom/lower/under”and the like in the description and in the claims may be used todistinguish between any one substance or element and other substances orelements and are not necessarily intended to describe any physical orlogical relationship between the substances or elements or a particularorder.

For reference, in the respective drawings, a rectangular coordinatesystem (x, y, z) may be used. In the drawings, the x-axis and the y-axisindicate a plane perpendicular to the optical axis, and for convenience,the optical axis (z-axis) direction may be referred to as a firstdirection, the x-axis direction may be referred to as a seconddirection, and the y-axis direction may be referred to as a thirddirection.

An optical image stabilizing apparatus, which is applied to compactcamera modules of mobile devices such as smart phones or tablet PCs,refers to an apparatus configured to inhibit the contour of an imagecaptured upon still image shooting from not being clearly formed due tovibrations caused by the trembling of user's hand.

In addition, an autofocusing device is configured to automatically focusthe subject image on the surface of an image sensor. The optical imagestabilizing apparatus and the autofocusing device may be configured invarious manners. The lens moving apparatus according to the embodimentsmay perform the optical image stabilizing and/or autofocusing operationsin such a manner as to move an optical module composed of a plurality oflenses in a first direction or in a direction perpendicular to the firstdirection.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lens moving apparatus according to an embodimentmay include a movable unit. The movable unit may fulfill the functionsof autofocusing and handshake correction for a lens. The movable unitmay include a bobbin 110, a first coil 120, first magnets 130, a housing140, an upper elastic member 150 and a lower elastic member 160.

The bobbin 110 may be disposed in the first magnets 130, and may beprovided on the outer circumferential surface thereof with the firstcoil. The bobbin 110 may be mounted so as to be reciprocated in a firstdirection in the internal space of the housing 140 by electromagneticinteraction between the first magnets 130 and the first coil 120. Thefirst coil 120 may be provided on the outer surface of the bobbin 110 soas to electromagnetically interact with the first magnets 130.

The bobbin 110 may be moved in the first direction while beingelastically supported by the upper and lower elastic members 150 and160, thereby fulfilling the autofocusing function.

The bobbin 110 may include a lens barrel (not shown) into which at leastone lens is mounted. The lens barrel may be internally coupled with thebobbin 110 in various manners.

In an example, the bobbin 110 may be provided on the inner surfacethereof with a female threaded portion, and the lens barrel may beprovided on the outer surface thereof with a male threaded portioncorresponding to the female threaded portion, whereby the lens barrelmay be coupled with the bobbin 110 by means of threaded engagementtherebetween. However, the coupling between the lens barrel and thebobbin 110 is not limited thereto, and the lens barrel may be directlycoupled with the inside of the bobbin 110 in a manner other than thethreaded engagement, in which case the female threaded portion is notprovided on the inner surface of the bobbin 110. Alternatively, one ormore lenses may be integrally formed with the bobbin 110, without usingthe lens barrel.

The lens, which is coupled with the lens barrel, may be composed of asingle lens, or two or more lenses constituting an optical system.

The autofocusing function may be controlled by changing the direction ofcurrent, or may be fulfilled by the action of moving the bobbin 110 inthe first direction. For example, the bobbin 110 may be moved upwardfrom its initial position upon the application of forward current, andmay be moved downward upon the application of reverse current. Thedistance by which the bobbin 110 moves in one direction from the initialposition may be increased or decreased by controlling the amount ofcurrent flowing in one direction.

The bobbin 110 may be provided on upper and lower surfaces thereof witha plurality of upper support protrusions and a plurality of lowersupport protrusions, respectively. The upper support protrusions may beconfigured to have a circular cylindrical shape or a rectangular columnshape, and may serve to couple or secure the upper elastic member 150thereto. The lower support protrusions may also be configured to have acircular cylindrical shape or a rectangular column shape, and may serveto couple or secure the lower elastic member 160 thereto, like the uppersupport protrusions.

The upper elastic member 150 may have therein through holescorresponding to the upper support protrusions, and the lower elasticmember 160 may have therein through holes corresponding to the lowersupport protrusions. The respective support protrusions and thecorresponding through holes may be fixedly coupled with each other bymeans of thermal fusion or an adhesive such as epoxy.

The housing 140 may function to support the first magnets 130. As shownin FIGS. 1 and 2, in an embodiment, the housing 140 may be configured tohave a hollow column, for example, an approximately rectangular hollowcolumn capable of supporting the first magnets 130. Each lateral side ofthe housing 140 may be provided with the first magnet 130 and supportmembers 220 secured thereto.

As described above, the housing 140 may be provided therein with thebobbin 110, which is moved in the first direction under the guidance ofthe elastic members 150 and 160. In this embodiment, the first magnets130 may be disposed at the corner regions of the housing 140, and thesupport members 220 may be disposed on the lateral side surfaces of thehousing 140.

The upper elastic member 150 may be disposed on the bobbin 110, and thelower elastic member 160 may be disposed under the bobbin 110. The upperelastic member 150 and the lower elastic member 160 may elasticallysupport the upward or downward movement of the bobbin 110 in the firstdirection. The upper elastic member 150 and the lower elastic member 160may be constituted by a leaf spring.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper elastic member 150 may be composed of apair of elastic members, which are separated from each other. By virtueof the dual partitioning structure, current having different polaritiesor different electric powers may be applied to the respectivepartitioned elastic members of the upper elastic member 150. In amodification, the lower elastic member 160 may also be composed of apair of partitioned elastic members, and the upper elastic member 150may be configured to have an integral structure.

The upper elastic member 150, the lower elastic member 160, the bobbin110 and the housing 140 may be assembled to one another by means ofthermal fusion and/or bonding using an adhesive or the like. Here, thecomponents may be first coupled with one another by means of thermalfusion, and may then be finally coupled with one another by means ofbonding using an adhesive.

The base 210 may be disposed under the bobbin 110, and may be configuredto have an approximately rectangular shape. A printed circuit board 250may be mounted on the base 210, and lower portions of the supportmembers 220 may be coupled with the base 210. The base 210 may beprovided in the upper surface thereof with mounting grooves 214 intowhich the support members 220 are fitted. An adhesive may be applied tothe mounting grooves 214 to immobilize the support members 220.

The regions of the base 210 that face terminal members 253 of theprinted circuit board 250 may be provided with respective supportrecesses having a size corresponding to that of the terminal members253. The support recesses may be recessed from the outer circumferentialsurface of the base 210 by a predetermined depth such that the terminalmembers 253 do not protrude outward from the outer circumferentialsurface of the base 210 or such that the extent to which the terminalmembers 253 protrude can be controlled.

The support members 220 are disposed on the lateral sides of the housing140 such that the upper sides of the support members 220 are coupledwith the housing 140 and the lower sides of the support members 220 arecoupled with the base 210. The support members 220 may support thebobbin 110 and the housing 140 in such a manner as to allow the bobbin110 and the housing 140 to move in the second and third directions,perpendicular to the first direction. The support members 220 may beconductively connected to the first coil 120.

The upper elastic member 150 may apply current to the first coil 120through the support members 220 conductively connected thereto. Althoughthe support members 220 are illustrated in FIG. 2 as being embodied asplate-shaped support members according to an embodiment, the supportmembers 220 are not limited thereto. In other words, the support members220 may be configured to have a wire shape.

Second coils 230 may move the housing 140 in the second and/or thirddirections to perform the handshake correction by virtue ofelectromagnetic interaction with the first magnets 130.

The second or third direction may include not only the x-axis directionand the y-axis direction but also a direction which is substantiallyclose to the x-axis direction or the y-axis direction. In other words,in terms of driving in the embodiments, although a housing 140 may movein a direction parallel to the x-axis or the y-axis, the housing maymove in a direction which is slightly oblique with respect to the x-axisor the y-axis in the state of being supported by a support member 220.

The first magnets 130 are required to be disposed at positionscorresponding to the second coils 230.

The second coils 230 may be disposed so as to face the first magnets130, which are secured to the housing 140. In one embodiment, the secondcoils 230 may be disposed outside the first magnets 130, or may bedisposed under the first magnets 130 so as to be spaced apart from thefirst magnets 130 by a predetermined distance.

According to the embodiment, although a total of four second coils 230may be disposed such that one thereof is disposed on each corner of acircuit member 231, the disclosure is not limited thereto. Only twosecond coils 230, that is, one second coil for movement in the seconddirection and one second coil for movement in the third direction, maybe provided, or a total of more than four second coils 230 may beprovided.

In the embodiment, although circuit patterns having the shape of thesecond coils 230 are formed on the circuit member 231 and additionalsecond coils are disposed on the circuit member 231, the disclosure isnot limited thereto. Alternatively, only additional second coils 230 maybe disposed on the circuit member 231, without forming the circuitpatterns having the shape of the second coils 230.

Furthermore, the second coils 230, which have been prepared by windingwires into a doughnut shape or which have the shape of a finelypatterned coil, may be conductively connected to the printed circuitboard 250.

The second coils 230 may be disposed over the base 210 and under thehousing 140. The circuit member 231 including the second coils 230 maybe disposed on the upper surface of the printed circuit board 250, whichis positioned over the base 210.

However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the second coils 230may be disposed on the base 210 in a state of being in close contacttherewith, or may be spaced apart from the base 210 by a predetermineddistance. In other examples, a substrate on which the second coils areformed may be layered on the printed circuit board 250 and connectedthereto.

The printed circuit board 250 may be coupled with the upper surface ofthe base 210. As shown in FIG. 2, the printed circuit board 250 may havethrough holes or grooves formed at positions corresponding to themounting grooves 214 so as to allow the mounting grooves 214 to beexposed therethrough.

The printed circuit board 250 may be provided with the terminal members253, which are formed by bending portions of the printed circuit board250 and to which the terminals 251 are attached. The embodimentillustrates the printed circuit board 250 having two bent terminalmembers 253. Each terminal member 253 includes a plurality of terminals251 for the application of external power to the terminal members 253,whereby current is supplied to the first coil 120 and the second coils230. The number of terminals 251 provided on each terminal member 253may be increased or decreased depending on the kinds of components to becontrolled. Alternatively, the number of terminal members 253 providedon the printed circuit board may be one, or three or more.

A cover member 300, which is configured to have an approximate boxshape, may accommodate the movable unit, the second coils 230 and aportion of the printed circuit board 250, and may be coupled with thebase 210. The cover member 300 may serve to protect the movable unit,the second coils 230, the printed circuit board 250 and the like,accommodated therein, from damage, and may serve to inhibit anelectromagnetic field, which is generated by the first magnets 130, thefirst coil 120, the second coils 230 and the like, from leaking outward,thereby concentrating the electromagnetic field.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the support members 220according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a frontview illustrating the support member 220 according to the embodiment.

The support member 220 may be coupled at an upper portion thereof to theupper elastic member 150. The support member 220 may also be coupled atanother upper portion thereof to the housing 140.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the support member 220 according to theembodiment may be disposed on a side surface of the housing 140. Thesupport member 220 may be coupled with the mounting groove 214 formed inthe base 210 by means of an adhesive or the like, and may be bonded atan upper side thereof to a side surface of the housing 140 and to theupper elastic member 150.

Since the support members 220 are respectively disposed on the outersurfaces of the cuboidal housing 140, a total of four support membersmay be symmetrically disposed so as to surround the bobbin 110. However,the disclosure is not limited thereto, and a total of eight supportmembers 220 may also be disposed two on each side surface of the housing140.

The support member may be conductively connected to the upper elasticmember 150, or may be conductively connected to a straight surface ofthe upper elastic member 150. Since the support member 220 is preparedseparately from the elastic member 150, the support member 220 may beconductively connected to the upper elastic member 150 by means of aconductive adhesive, solder or the like.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the support member 220 may include a firstcoupling portion 221, a first elastic deformation portion 222, a secondelastic deformation portion 223, a second coupling portion 224, aconnecting portion 225 and a first protruding portion 226.

The first coupling portion 221 may be coupled with an upper portion ofthe housing 140, and may be provided with through holes 800 formedtherethrough. The first coupling portion 221 may be bonded at the regionof the through holes 800 to a second protruding portion 149 protrudingfrom the upper surface of the housing 140. The first coupling portion221 may also be bonded to the upper elastic member 150, and detaileddescription thereof will be given later.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, at least one through hole 800 may be formed inopposite ends of the first coupling portion 221. By applying an adhesiveto the through holes 800, the first coupling portion 221 may be bondedto the housing 140. The structure in which the first coupling portion221 is coupled with the housing 140 will be described in detail later.

In another embodiment, the second coupling portion 224 may be providedwith a recess (not shown), and the housing 140 may be provided with acoupling protrusion (not shown). Accordingly, by fitting the couplingprotrusion into the recess, the second coupling portion 224 may becoupled with the housing 140.

The second coupling portion 224 may be the portion that is coupled withthe base 224, and may be provided at the lower end of the support member220. The second coupling portion 224 may be configured to have a plateshape having a width larger than the width of the first elasticdeformation portion 222 and the second elastic deformation portion 223.However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the second couplingportion 224 may have a width smaller than or equal to the width of thefirst elastic deformation portion 222 and the second elastic deformationportion 223.

According to the embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the secondcoupling portion 224 may be composed of a pair of coupling portions,which are connected to each other and diametrically opposed and whichare respectively fitted or disposed in the mounting grooves 214 in thebase 210. The second coupling portion 224 may be fixedly coupled withthe mounting groove 214 formed in the base 210 by means of an adhesivesuch as epoxy. Alternatively, the second coupling portion 224 may becoupled with the base 210 without the mounting groove 214.

However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the second couplingportion 224 may be coupled with the mounting groove 214 merely byfitting the second coupling portion 224 into the mounting groove 214 inan interference fitting manner. The second coupling portion 224 may be asingle coupling portion, or may be composed of two or more couplingportions. In this case, the base 210 may be provided with the mountinggroove 214 in a number corresponding to the number of second couplingportion 224.

The first elastic deformation portion 222 may be composed of a pair ofelastic deformation portions, which extend from the first couplingportion 221 and are diametrically opposed. The second elasticdeformation portion 223 may be composed of a pair of elastic deformationportions, which extend from the second coupling portion 224 and arediametrically opposed.

Each of the first and second elastic deformation portions 222 and 223may be configured to have a predetermined pattern, which is prepared bybending the elastic deformation portions at least once. According to theembodiment, the elastic deformation portions may include the first andsecond elastic deformation portions 222 and 223. The first elasticdeformation portion 222 extends from the first coupling portion 221 soas to be connected to the connecting portion 225. The second elasticdeformation portion 223 extends from the first coupling portion 221 soas to be connected to the connecting portion 225.

The first and second elastic deformation portions may be disposed withthe connecting portion 225 interposed therebetween, and may beconfigured to have shapes corresponding to each other.

In an example, when the first elastic deformation portion 222 isconfigured to have a zigzag shape by bending the elastic deformationportion 222 two times or more as illustrated in FIG. 4, the secondelastic portion 223 may be configured to have a corresponding zigzagshape. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and only thefirst elastic deformation portion 222 may be provided or the secondelastic deformation portion 223 may be configured to have a differentshape.

The above configuration is merely an example, and the elasticdeformation portions may be configured to have various other shapes. Theelastic deformation portions may be constructed into a single elasticdeformation portion without division into the first and second elasticdeformation portions 222 and 223, and may be configured to havesuspension wire shapes without the bent pattern.

According to the embodiment, the straight portions of the first andsecond elastic deformation portions 222 and 223 may be disposed so as tobe approximately parallel to a plane perpendicular to the firstdirection.

When the housing 140 is moved in the second and/or third direction alonga plane perpendicular to the first direction, the first and secondelastic deformation portions 222 and 223 may be elastically deformed toa minute extent in a direction in which the housing 140 moves or in thelongitudinal direction of the support member 220.

As a result, the housing 140 is able to move in the second and thirddirections defining a plane perpendicular to the first direction withalmost no displacement in the first direction, thereby improving theaccuracy of the handshake correction. The improvement is obtained byemploying the ability of the elastic deformation portions 222 and 223 tobe extensible in the longitudinal direction. Here, the longitudinaldirection may be a direction in which the first coupling portion 221 isconnected to the second coupling portion 224.

The connecting portion 225 may be composed of a pair of connectingportions, which connect the first and second elastic deformationportions 222 and 223 to each other and which are disposed to bediametrically opposed to each other. The connecting portion 225 may bedisposed between the first and second elastic deformation portions 222and 223, as described above. However, the disclosure is not limitedthereto, and the connecting portion 225 may be connected to only one ofthe first and second elastic deformation portions 222 and 223.

In the embodiment, although each of the first and second elasticdeformation portions 222 and 223 is composed of a pair of elasticdeformation portions, each of the first and second coupling portions 221and 224 is integrally formed, and is able to couple both the first andsecond elastic deformation portions 222 and 223 to the housing 140 andthe base 210.

Each of opposite ends of the support member 220 may be provided with oneor more coupling portions, and one or more elastic deformation portionmay be provided between the support members 220.

The first protrusion 226 may protrude downward from the first couplingportion 221. Although the first protruding portion 226 is illustrated inFIG. 4 as having a T-shape, the disclosure is not limited thereto. Forexample, the first protruding portion 226 may be configured to havevarious shapes, such as a bar shape, a circular shape, an elliptic shapeand a curved shape.

The first protrusion 226 may be bonded to a lateral side surface of thehousing 140 so as to function to fix or couple an upper portion of thesupport member 220 to a lateral side surface of the housing 140. Here,if only the first protrusion 226 is bonded to the housing 140 in orderto bond the support member 220 to the housing 140, it is impossible toprovide sufficient coupling strength between the support member 220 andthe housing 140.

In this case, the support member 220 may be separated from the housing140 due to the repeated application of external shocks, thereby causingmalfunction or breakage of the lens moving apparatus. Hence, there is aproblem in that it is impossible to assure the mechanical reliability ofthe lens moving apparatus. A specific structure of the lens movingapparatus capable of overcoming this problem will be described later.

FIG. 5 is a front view illustrating the support member 220 according tothe embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a partial perspectiveview illustrating the support member 220 according to the embodiment.

The first protruding portion 226 of the support member 220 may be bondedto the lateral side surface of the housing 140. The lateral side surfaceof the housing 140 may be provided at a region thereof corresponding tothe first protruding portion 226 with a fourth protruding portion 147,which is to be bonded to the first protruding portion 226. The fourthprotruding portion 147 may protrude in a direction toward the firstprotruding portion 226.

Accordingly, an adhesive may be applied to the opposing surfaces of thefirst protruding portion 226 and the fourth protruding portion 147. Asthe adhesive is cured, the first protruding portion 226 may be bonded tothe fourth protruding portion 147, whereby the support member 220 isbonded to the housing 140.

The region of the lateral side surface of the housing 140, at which thesupport member 220 is disposed, may be formed into an inclined surface148. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the inclined surface 148 may beconfigured to have a surface area capable of accommodating the entiresupport member 220.

The inclined surface 148 may be formed by depressing a portion of thelateral side surface of the housing 140 that corresponds to a surfacearea capable of accommodating the entire support member 220. Here, thedepressed region of the lateral side surface of the housing 140 may beconfigured such that the distance between the housing 140 and thesupport member 220 is increased moving downward.

In other words, due to the formation of the inclined surface 148, thedistance between the lateral side surface of the housing 140 and thesupport member 220 may be increased moving downwards. By virtue of thisconfiguration, when the support member 220 moves along an x-y planeperpendicular to the first direction, interference between the housing140 and the support member 220 may be remarkably reduced, therebyimproving the handshake correction function of the lens movingapparatus.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view illustrating portion A of FIG. 6. Asdescribed above, the second protruding portion 149 may protrude from theupper surface of the housing 140 in the first direction, and an end ofthe first coupling portion 221, in which the through holes 800 areformed, may be bonded to the second protruding portion 149. Referring toFIG. 7, the process of bonding the first coupling portion 221 to thesecond protruding portion 149 will now be described.

First, an adhesive is applied to opposing surfaces of an end of thefirst coupling portion 221 and the second protruding portion 149.Subsequently, the end of the first coupling portion 221 is bonded to thesecond protruding portion 149, and an adhesive is further applied to theopposite surface 221 b of the end of the first coupling portion 221.

Thereafter, as the adhesive is cured, the opposing surfaces of the endof the first coupling portion 221 and the second protruding portion 149may be bonded or coupled with each other by means of the adhesive. Atthis time, after curing of the adhesive, adhesive trapped in the throughholes 800 and adhesive on the opposite surface 221 b may serve as afastening element, such as a fixing pin, a rivet or the like.

Consequently, by virtue of the bonding structure using an adhesive, thefirst coupling portion 221 and the second protruding portion 149 may befirmly fixed or coupled with each other. As a result, the support member220 and the housing 140 may also be firmly coupled with each other.

In another embodiment, an adhesive may be applied only to the oppositesurface 221 b of the end of the first coupling portion 221, which ispositioned opposite the opposing surface of the end of the firstcoupling portion 221. In this case, since a portion of the adhesiveapplied to the opposite surface 221 b infiltrates between the opposingsurfaces of the end of the first coupling portion 221 and the secondprotruding portion 149 through the through holes 800, the opposingsurfaces may be fixed or coupled with each other by the infiltratedadhesive.

Accordingly, according to the embodiment, the through holes 800 areformed through the region of the first coupling portion 221 of thesupport member 220 that is bonded to the housing 140, and the supportmember 220 and the housing 140 are adhesively coupled with each other bymeans of an adhesive. Consequently, there is an effect of being able toincrease the coupling strength between the support member 220 and thehousing 140.

The first coupling portion 221 may be bonded to the upper elastic member150. As illustrated in FIG. 7, a bonding portion 900 may be provided inorder to bond the first coupling portion 221 and the upper elasticmember 150 to each other.

The bonding portion 900 may function to couple the first couplingportion 221 and the upper elastic member 150 to each other by beingapplied or formed between a portion of the first coupling portion 221and the upper elastic member 150.

In an embodiment, the bonding portion 900 may be applied or formed so asto bond a portion of the opposing surface of the end of the firstcoupling portion 221 that faces the second protruding portion 149, theside surface of the second protruding portion 149 and the upper surfaceof the elastic member, as illustrated in FIG. 7.

The bonding portion 900 may be applied or formed into athree-dimensional shape, such as a portion of a sphere or an ovalsphere. This shape of the bonding portion 900 may be easily realized byusing the viscosity and surface tension of the adhesive constituting thebonding portion 900.

The support member 220 and the upper elastic member 150 may be made of ametal material. Meanwhile, the bobbin 110 may be made of a plasticmaterial.

Coupling between components made of the same material using an adhesivemay remarkably enhance the coupling strength between the components,compared to coupling between components made of different materialsusing an adhesive.

In the embodiment, the support member 220 and the bobbin 110 made of aplastic material are coupled with each other using an adhesive, and thesupport member 220 and the upper elastic member 150, both of which aremade of a metal material, are coupled with each other using an adhesive.

Accordingly, since the support member 220 and the upper elastic member150, which are made of the same material, particularly, a metalmaterial, are coupled with each other using an adhesive, the couplingstrength of the support member 220 to the lens moving apparatus may beremarkably increased.

Consequently, the embodiment may remarkably reduce malfunction orbreakage of the lens moving apparatus, which is caused by low couplingstrength of the support member 220 and consequent separation of thesupport member 220 from the housing 140 due to the repeated applicationof external shocks. As a result, there is an effect of being able tosecure the mechanical reliability of the lens moving apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating another embodiment of portion A of FIG. 6.In this embodiment, the upper elastic member 150 may be provided with athird protruding portion 159 at a region thereof facing the lower end ofthe first coupling portion 221, as illustrated in FIG. 8.

In this embodiment, the third protruding portion 159 and the firstcoupling portion 221 may be bonded to each other in the followingmanner. First, an adhesive is applied to the opposing surfaces of theend of the first coupling portion 221 and the second protruding portion149, or is applied only to the opposite surface of the end of the firstcoupling portion 221 that is positioned opposite the opposing surface ofthe end of the first coupling portion 221.

Subsequently, a portion of the adhesive applied to the first couplingportion 221 flows to the third protruding portion 159 and stays there.In the embodiment, the adhesive flowing from the first coupling portion221 may be trapped between the upper surface 159 a of the thirdprotruding portion 159 and the lower end 221 a of the first couplingportion 221.

The adhesive which has flowed from the first coupling portion 221 andhas then been trapped between the upper surface 159 a of the thirdprotruding portion 159 and the lower end 221 a of the first couplingportion 221 may couple the first coupling portion 221 to the upperelastic member 150.

In the embodiment, the first coupling portion 221 and the firstprotruding portion 226 may be coupled with each other by means of theadhesive, and, at the same time, the first coupling portion 221 and thethird protruding portion 159 may also be coupled with each other bymeans of the adhesive. In addition, the first coupling portion 221, thesecond protruding portion 149 and the upper elastic member 150 may becoupled with one another by means of the bonding portion 150.

In the embodiment, a secure triple bond is established among the supportmember 220, the bobbin 110 and the upper elastic member 150, and thesupport member 220 is coupled with the lateral side surface of thebobbin 110. By virtue of this multiple bonding structure, the supportmember 220 may be firmly coupled with the lens moving apparatus.

In the embodiment, the adhesive that is used or the bonding portion 900may be composed of epoxy or thermosetting bond. However, the disclosureis not limited thereto, and any material may be used as long as thematerial satisfies coupling strength and other properties required indesign of the lens moving apparatus.

The lens moving apparatus according to the embodiment may beincorporated in devices in various fields, for example, a camera module.Such a camera module may be applied to mobile devices such as cellularphones.

The camera module according to the embodiment may include the lensbarrel coupled with the bobbin 110, an image sensor (not shown), and aprinted circuit board. The lens barrel may be configured as describedabove, and the printed circuit board 250 may define the bottom surfaceof the camera module from a portion thereof on which the image sensor ismounted. The lens barrel may include at least one lens for transmittingan image to the image sensor.

The camera module may further include an infrared- screening filter (notshown). The infrared-screening filter serves to shield the image sensorfrom light in an infrared range.

The base 210 shown in FIG. 2 may include the infrared-screening filtermounted at a position corresponding to the image sensor, and may becoupled with a holder member (not shown). The holder member may supporta lower side of the base 210.

The base 210 may be provided with an additional terminal member forconnection with the printed circuit board 250, and the terminal membermay also be integrally formed using a surface electrode.

The base 210 may serve as a sensor holder for protecting the imagesensor. In this case, although the base 210 may be provided along thelateral side surface thereof with protrusions that project downward,these are not essential components. Although not shown in the drawings,an additional sensor holder disposed under the base 210 may fulfill thesame function as the protrusions.

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a lens movingapparatus according to another embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explodedperspective view illustrating the lens moving apparatus shown in FIG. 9.

Referring to FIG. 9, the lens moving apparatus according to theembodiment may include a first lens moving unit (not shown), a secondlens moving unit (not shown) and a cover member 1300. Here, the firstlens moving unit 100 may fulfill the function of the above-describedautofocusing device, and the second lens moving unit 200 may fulfill thefunction of the above-described handshake correction device.

The cover member 1300 may be configured to have an approximate boxshape, and may surround the first and second lens moving units (notshown).

As shown in FIG. 10, the lens moving apparatus according to theembodiment may include a movable unit. The movable unit may fulfill theautofocusing and handshake correction functions of the lens. The movableunit may include a bobbin 1110, a first coil 1120, first magnets 1130, ahousing 1140, an upper elastic member 1150 and a lower elastic member1160.

The bobbin 1110 may be provided on the outer surface thereof with thefirst coil 1120 disposed between the first magnets 1130. Due to theelectromagnetic interaction between the first magnets 1130 and the firstcoil 1120, the bobbin 1110 may reciprocate in the first direction in thespace inside the housing 1140. The bobbin 1110 may be provided on theouter surface thereof with the first coil 1120 so as toelectromagnetically interact with the first magnets 1130.

The bobbin 1110 may move in the first direction in the state of beingelastically supported by the upper elastic member 1150 and the lowerelastic member 1160 in order to fulfill the autofocusing function.

The bobbin 1110 may include a lens barrel (not shown) in which at leastone lens is mounted. The lens barrel may be coupled with the inside ofthe bobbin 1110 in various ways.

For example, the lens barrel may be coupled with the bobbin 1110 in sucha manner as to form a female thread in the inner surface of the bobbin1110, form a male thread, corresponding to the female thread, in theouter surface of the lens barrel and threadedly engage the twocomponents with each other. However, the disclosure is not limitedthereto, and the lens barrel may be directly held in the bobbin 1110 inways other than the threaded engagement, without formation of the threadin the inner surface of the bobbin 1110. Alternatively, the at least onelens may be integrally formed with the bobbin without having to preparethe lens barrel.

The lens coupled with the lens barrel may be composed of a single lensor two or more lenses constituting an optical system.

The autofocusing function may be controlled by changing the direction ofcurrent, or may be fulfilled by the action of moving the bobbin 1110 inthe first direction. For example, the bobbin 1110 may be moved upwardfrom its initial position upon the application of forward current, andmay be moved downward upon the application of reverse current. Thedistance by which the bobbin 1110 moves in one direction from theinitial position may be increased or decreased by controlling the amountof current flowing in one direction.

The bobbin 1110 may be provided on upper and lower surfaces thereof witha plurality of upper support protrusions and a plurality of lowersupport protrusions, respectively. The upper support protrusions may beconfigured to have a circular cylindrical shape or a rectangular columnshape, and may serve to couple or secure the upper elastic member 1150thereto. The lower support protrusions may also be configured to have acircular cylindrical shape or a rectangular column shape, and may serveto couple or secure the lower elastic member 1160 thereto, like theupper support protrusions.

The upper elastic member 1150 may be disposed on the bobbin, and thelower elastic member 1160 may be disposed under the bobbin 1110. Theupper elastic member 1150 may have through holes corresponding to theupper support protrusions, and the lower elastic member 1160 may havethrough holes corresponding to the lower support protrusions. Therespective support protrusions and the corresponding through holes maybe fixedly coupled with each other by means of thermal fusion or anadhesive such as epoxy.

The housing 140 may be configured to have a hollow column, for example,an approximately rectangular hollow column capable of supporting thefirst magnets 1130. Each lateral side of the housing 1140 may beprovided with the first magnet 1130 and support members 1220 securedthereto.

As described above, the housing 1140 may be provided therein with thebobbin 1110, which is moved in the first direction under the guidance ofthe elastic members 1150 and 1160. In this embodiment, the first magnets1130 may be disposed at the corner regions of the housing 1140, and thesupport members 1220 may be disposed on the lateral side surfaces of thehousing 1140.

The upper elastic member 1150 and the lower elastic member 1160 mayelastically support the upward and/or downward movement of the bobbin1110 in the first direction. The upper elastic member 1150 and the lowerelastic member 1160 may be constituted by a leaf spring.

As shown in FIG. 10, the upper elastic member 1150 may be composed of apair of elastic members, which are separated from each other. By virtueof this dual partitioning structure, current having different polaritiesor different electric powers may be applied to the respectivepartitioned elastic members of the upper elastic member 1150. In amodification, the lower elastic member 1160 may also be composed of apair of partitioned elastic members, and the upper elastic member 1150may be configured to have an integral structure.

The upper elastic member 1150, the lower elastic member 1160, the bobbin1110 and the housing 1140 may be assembled to one another by means ofthermal fusion and/or bonding using an adhesive or the like. Here, thecomponents may be first coupled with one another by means of thermalfusion, and may then be finally coupled with one another by means ofbonding using an adhesive.

The base 1210 may be disposed under the bobbin 1110, and may beconfigured to have an approximately rectangular shape. A printed circuitboard 1250 may be mounted on the base 1210, and lower portions of thesupport members 1220 may be coupled with the base 1210. The base 1210may be provided in the upper surface thereof with mounting grooves 1214into which the support members 1220 are fitted. An adhesive may beapplied to the mounting grooves 1214 so as to immobilize the supportmembers 1220.

The regions of the base 1210 that face terminal members 1253 of theprinted circuit board 1250 may be provided with respective supportrecesses having a size corresponding to that of the terminal members1253. The support recesses may be recessed from the outercircumferential surface of the base 1210 by a predetermined depth suchthat the terminal members 1253 do not protrude outward from the outercircumferential surface of the base 1210 or such that the extent towhich the terminal members 1253 protrude can be controlled.

The support members 1220 are disposed on the lateral sides of thehousing 1140 such that the upper sides of the support members 1220 arecoupled with the housing 1140 and the lower sides of the support members1220 are coupled with the base 1210. The support members 1220 maysupport the bobbin 1110 and the housing 1140 in such a manner as toallow the bobbin 1110 and the housing 1140 to move in the second andthird directions, perpendicular to the first direction. The supportmembers 1220 may be conductively connected to the first coil 1120.

Since the support members 1220 according to the embodiment arerespectively disposed on the outer surfaces of the cuboidal housing1140, a total of four support members may be symmetrically disposed.However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and a total of eightsupport members 1220 may alternatively be disposed two on each sidesurface of the housing 1140. The support members 1220 may beconductively connected to the upper elastic member 1150, or may beconductively connected to a straight surface of the upper elastic member1150.

Since the support member 1220 is prepared separately from the elasticmember 1150, the support member 1220 may be conductively connected tothe upper elastic member 1150 by means of a conductive adhesive, solderor the like. Consequently, the upper elastic member 1150 may applycurrent to the first coil 1120 through the support members conductivelyconnected thereto.

Although the support members 1220 are illustrated in FIG. 10 as beingembodied as plate-shaped support members according to an embodiment, thesupport members 1220 are not limited thereto. In other words, thesupport members 1220 may be configured to have a wire shape.

Second coils 1230 may move the housing 1140 in the second and/or thirddirections to perform the handshake correction by virtue ofelectromagnetic interaction with the first magnets 1130.

The second or third direction may include not only the x-axis directionor the y-axis direction but also a direction which is substantiallyclose to the x-axis direction or the y-axis direction. In other words,in terms of driving in the embodiments, although a housing 1140 may movein a direction parallel to the x-axis or the y-axis, the housing maymove in a direction which is slightly oblique with respect to the x-axisor the y-axis in the state of being supported by a support member 1220.

The first magnets 1130 are required to be disposed at positionscorresponding to the second coils 1230.

The second coils 1230 may be disposed so as to face the first magnets1130, which are secured to the housing 1140. In one embodiment, thesecond coils 1230 may be disposed outside the first magnets 1130, or maybe disposed under the first magnets 1130 so as to be spaced apart fromthe first magnets 1130 by a predetermined distance.

According to the embodiment, although a total of four second coils 1230may be disposed one on each corner of a circuit member 1231, thedisclosure is not limited thereto. Only two second coils 1230, that is,one second coil for movement in the second direction and one second coilfor movement in the third direction, may be provided, or a total of morethan four second coils 1230 may be provided.

In the embodiment, although circuit patterns having the shape of thesecond coils 1230 are formed on the circuit member 1231 and additionalsecond coils are disposed on the circuit member 1231, the disclosure isnot limited thereto. Alternatively, only additional second coils 1230may be disposed on the circuit member 1231, in which case the circuitpatterns having the shape of the second coils 1230 are not formed.

Furthermore, the second coils 1230, which have been prepared by windingwires into a doughnut shape or which have the shape of a finelypatterned coil, may be conductively connected to the printed circuitboard 1250.

The second coils 1230 may be disposed over the base 1210 and under thehousing 1140. The circuit member 1231 including the second coils 1230may be disposed on the upper surface of the printed circuit board 1250,which is positioned over the base 1210.

However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the second coils1230 may be disposed on the base 1210 in a state of being in closecontact therewith, or may be spaced apart from the base 1210 by apredetermined distance. In other examples, a substrate on which thesecond coils are formed may be layered on the printed circuit board 1250and connected thereto.

The printed circuit board 1250 may be coupled with the upper surface ofthe base 1210. As shown in FIG. 10, the printed circuit board 1250 mayhave through holes or grooves formed at positions corresponding to themounting grooves 1214 so as to expose the mounting grooves 1214therethrough.

The printed circuit board 1250 may be provided with the terminal members1253, which are formed by bending portions of the printed circuit board1250 and to which the terminals 1251 are attached. The embodimentillustrates the printed circuit board 1250 having two bent terminalmembers 1253. Each terminal member 1253 includes a plurality ofterminals 1251 for the application of external power to the terminalmembers 1253, whereby current is supplied to the first coil 1120 and thesecond coils 1230. The number of terminals 1251 provided on eachterminal member 1253 may be increased or decreased depending on thekinds of components to be controlled. Alternatively, the number ofterminal members 1253 provided on the printed circuit board may be one,or three or more.

A cover member 1300, which is configured to have an approximate boxshape, may accommodate the movable unit, the second coils 1230 and aportion of the printed circuit board 1250, and may be coupled with thebase 1210. The cover member 1300 may serve to protect the movable unit,the second coils 1230, the printed circuit board 1250 and the like,accommodated therein, from damage, and may serve to inhibit anelectromagnetic field, which is generated by the first magnets 1130, thefirst coil 1120, the second coils 1230 and the like, from leakingoutward, thereby concentrating the electromagnetic field.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the base 1210, theprinted circuit board 1250 and the second coils 1230, according to theembodiment. The lens moving apparatus may further include positionsensors 1240.

The position sensors 1240 are disposed at the center of the second coils1230 so as to detect movement of the housing 1140. Here, the positionsensors 1240 may basically detect movement of the housing 1140 in thefirst direction. In some cases, the position sensors 1240 may beconfigured so as to detect movement of the housing 1140 in the secondand third directions.

The position sensors 1240 may be embodied as hall sensors or the like,but may alternatively be embodied as any sensor as long as the sensor isable to detect variation in magnetic force. As illustrated in FIG. 11, atotal of two position sensors 1240 may be mounted on the corner regionsof the base 1210 disposed under the printed circuit board 1250. Themounted position sensors 1240 may be received in a position sensormounting recess 1215 formed in the base 1210. The lower surface of theprinted circuit board 1250 may be the surface opposite the surface onwhich the second coils 1230 are disposed.

The position sensors 1240 may be disposed to be spaced downward apartfrom the second coils 1230 with the printed circuit board 1250interposed therebetween. Specifically, the position sensors 1240 are notdirectly connected to the second coils 1230. The second coils 1230 maybe disposed on the upper surface of the printed circuit board 1250whereas the position sensors 1240 may be disposed on the lower surfaceof the printed circuit board 1250.

The lens moving apparatus according to the embodiment may beincorporated in devices in various fields, for example, a camera module.Such a camera module may be applied to mobile devices such as cellularphones.

The camera module according to the embodiment may include the lensbarrel coupled with the bobbin 1110 and an image sensor (not shown). Thelens barrel may include at least one lens for transmitting an image tothe image sensor.

The camera module may further include an infrared- screening filter (notshown). The infrared-screening filter serves to shield the image sensorfrom light in an infrared range.

The base 1210 shown in FIG. 10 may include the infrared-screening filtermounted at a position corresponding to the image sensor, and may becoupled with a holder member (not shown). The holder member may supportthe lower side of the base 1210.

The base 1210 may be provided with an additional terminal member forconnection with the printed circuit board 1250, and the terminal membermay also be integrally formed using a surface electrode.

The base 1210 may further include an adhesive member 1211 for bondingthe printed circuit board 1250 to the base 1210.

The adhesive member 1211 may be provided on one side surface of the base1210. The adhesive member 1211 may be disposed at a position at whichone side surface of the base 1210 contacts one side surface of theprinted circuit board 1250 in a surface-contact manner, as illustratedin the drawing.

Although the adhesive member 1211 is illustrated as being disposed onone side surface of the base 1210 in the embodiment, an additionaladhesive member 1211 may be further provided on the side surfaceopposite the side surface on which the base adhesive member 1211 isprovided.

The adhesive member 1211 shown in the embodiment is merely oneembodiment, and any element capable of bonding the printed circuit board1250 to the base 1210 may be used. The scope of rights of the presentinvention is not limited as to the position or the number of adhesivemembers 1211.

The base 1210 may further include an adhesive-member-receiving portion(not shown) which provides a space for accommodating the adhesive member1211.

The adhesive-member-receiving portion (not shown) is depressed from onesurface of the base by a predetermined height so as to provide a spacefor accommodating the adhesive member 1211.

The adhesive-member-receiving portion (not shown) is required only inorder to provide a space for accommodating the adhesive member 1211, andis not limited to the above embodiment. Furthermore, theadhesive-member-receiving portion does not limit the scope of rights ofthe present invention.

The base 1210 may further include a stepped portion provided in amounting recess 1214 in which a spring unit (not shown) is disposed.

As described above, the adhesive member 1211 may be provided on onesurface of the base 1210 in order to bond the printed circuit board 1250to the base 1210. Here, if the amount of the adhesive member 1211 isinsufficient, the adhesive force between the base 1210 and the printedcircuit board 1250 is decreased, thereby causing a phenomenon wherebythe printed circuit board 1250 is raised from the base 1210. Meanwhile,if the amount of the adhesive member 1211 is greater than the correctamount, the adhesive member 1211 flows into the mounting recess, therebycausing a problem in which it is difficult to accurately couple a springunit (not shown) to the mounting recess 1214.

Hence, the embodiment further includes the stepped portion provided inthe mounting recess 1214 of the base 1210 in order to inhibit theadhesive member 1211 from flowing into the mounting recess 1214.

The stepped portion may include at least one side surface portion 12143defining a side surface of the stepped portion, a lower surface portion12142 defining the lower surface of the stepped portion and a steppedspace 12141 defined by the side surface portion 12143 and the lowersurface portion 12142 so as to receive the adhesive member 1211.

The lower surface portion 12142 of the stepped space 12141 may have alinear cross-sectional shape.

Alternatively, the lower surface portion 12142 of the stepped space12141 may have a curved cross-sectional shape that is convex in thefirst direction.

In this case, since the cross-sectional shape of the lower surfaceportion 12142 of the stepped space 12141 is convex in the firstdirection perpendicular to the lower surface portion 12142, the adhesivemember 1211 is collected at opposite sides of the lower surface portion12142, thereby providing an effect of being able to efficiently inhibitthe adhesive member 1211 from flowing into the mounting recess 1214.

Furthermore, the lower surface portion 12142 of the stepped space 12141may also have a curved cross-sectional shape that is concave in thefirst direction perpendicular to the lower surface portion 12142.

In this case, since the cross-sectional shape of the lower surfaceportion 12142 of the stepped space 12141 is concave in the firstdirection perpendicular to the lower surface portion 12142, the adhesivemember 1211 is collected at the center of the lower surface portion12142, thereby providing an effect of being able to efficiently inhibitflow of the adhesive member 1211 into the mounting recess 1214.

In addition, the lower surface portion 12142 of the stepped space 12141may also have a sine curve shape.

In this case, since the cross-sectional shape of the lower surfaceportion 12142 of the stepped space 12141 is concave at multiple pointsin the first direction perpendicular to the lower surface portion 12142,the adhesive member 1211 is collected in multiple recesses of the lowersurface portion 12142, thereby providing an effect of being able toefficiently inhibit the flow of the adhesive member 1211 into themounting recess 1214.

Although the stepped portion is illustrated as being composed of asingle stepped portion in the embodiment, the stepped portion mayinclude a plurality of stepped portions.

By the provision of the plurality of stepped portions, the size of aspace capable of accommodating the adhesive member 1211 is at leastdoubled or tripled. Consequently, there is an effect of being able toefficiently inhibit the adhesive member 1211 from flowing into themounting recess 1214.

The lower surface portion 12142 may further include a plurality ofprotrusions 12144.

The plurality of protrusions 12144 may protrude upward from the lowersurface portion 12142 by a predetermined height.

Since the provision of the plurality of protrusions 12144 to the lowersurface portion 12142 increases resistance to the flow of the adhesivemember 1211 introduced into the stepped portion, it is possible toefficiently inhibit the adhesive member 1211 introduced into the steppedportion from flowing into the mounting recess 1214.

Although the plurality of protrusions 12144 are illustrated in thedrawing as having a hemisphere shape, the illustration is merely oneembodiment, and the protrusions 12144 may be formed into a conical shapeor a polygonal column.

The base 1210 may serve as a sensor holder for protecting the imagesensor. In this case, although the base 1210 may be provided along thelateral side surface thereof with protrusions that project downward,these are not essential components. Although not shown in the drawings,an additional sensor holder disposed under the base 210 may fulfill thesame function as the protrusions.

Referring to FIG. 14, the second coils 1230 may include fifth throughholes 1230 a that are formed through the corner portions of the circuitmember 1231. The support members 1220 may be connected to the printedcircuit board 1250 through the fifth through holes 1230 a. When thesecond coils 1230 are finely patterned (FP) coils, optical imagestabilizer (OIS) coils 1232 may be formed or disposed on some portionsof the finely patterned coils. In addition, the fifth through holes 1230a may not be formed in the second coils 1230, and the support members1220 may be conductively soldered to the points of the second coils 1230at which the fifth through holes 1230 a would otherwise be formed.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view illustrating a portable device 200Aaccording to an embodiment. FIG. 16 is a view illustrating theconfiguration of the portable device 200A shown in FIG. 15.

Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, the portable device 200A (hereinafterreferred to as a “device”) may include a body 850, a wirelesscommunication unit 710, an audio/video (A/V) input unit 720, a sensingunit 740, an input/output unit 750, a memory unit 760, an interface unit770, a controller 780, and a power supply unit 790.

A variety of electronic components of the device may be mounted in thespace defined between the front case 851 and the rear case 852.

The wireless communication unit 710 may include a broadcast receivingmodule 711, a mobile communication module 712, a wireless Internetmodule 713, a near field communication module 714, and a locationinformation module 715.

The A/V input unit 720 serves to input audio signals or video signals,and may include, for example, a camera 721 and a microphone 722.

The camera 721 may be a camera including the lens moving apparatus 100according to the embodiment.

The sensing unit 740 may sense the current state of the device 200A,such as, for example, the opening or closing of the device 200A, thelocation of the device 200A, the presence of a user's touch, theorientation of the device 200A, or the acceleration/deceleration of thedevice 200A, and may generate a sensing signal to control the operationof the device 200A. In addition, the sensing unit 740 serves to sense,for example, whether power is supplied from the power supply unit 790,or whether the interface unit 770 is coupled with an external component.

The input/output unit 750 serves to generate, for example, visual,audible, or tactile input or output. The input/output unit 750 maygenerate input data to control the operation of the device 200A, and maydisplay information processed in the device 200A.

The input/output unit 750 may include a keypad unit 730, a displaymodule 751, a sound output module 752, and a touchscreen panel 753. Thekeypad unit 730 may generate input data in response to input to akeypad.

The display module 751 may include a plurality of pixels, the color ofwhich varies in response to electrical signals.

The sound output module 752 may output audio data received from thewireless communication unit 710 in, for example, a call signal receivingmode, a call mode, a recording mode, a voice recognition mode, or abroadcast receiving mode, or may output audio data stored in the memoryunit 760.

The touchscreen panel 753 may convert variation in capacitance, causedby a user's touch on a specific region of a touchscreen, into electricalinput signals.

The memory unit 760 may store programs for the processing and control ofthe controller 780, input/output data, images captured by the camera 721and the like.

The interface unit 770 may receive power or data from the externalcomponent, and may transmit the same to respective constituent elementsinside the device 200A, or may transmit data inside the device 200A tothe external component. The controller 780 may control the generaloperation of the device 200A. The controller 780 may include a panelcontroller 144 of a touchscreen panel drive unit shown in FIG. 1, or mayfulfill the function of the panel controller 144.

The controller 780 may include a multimedia module 781 for multimediaplayback. The controller 780 may perform pattern recognition processing,by which writing or drawing, input to a touchscreen is perceived ascharacters and images respectively.

The power supply unit 790 may supply power required to operate therespective constituent elements upon receiving external power orinternal power under the control of the controller 780.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised. The technicalcontents of the above-described embodiments may be combined in variousmanners as long as they are not incompatible with each other, and newembodiments may be realized through such combination thereof.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

In the embodiments, the through holes are formed in the regions of thefirst coupling portion of the support member, which are bonded to thehousing, and the support member is coupled with the housing by means ofan adhesive. Accordingly, there is an effect of being able to increasethe coupling strength between the support member and the housing,thereby being industrially applicable.

1. A lens moving apparatus comprising: a housing; a bobbin disposed inthe housing; a magnet disposed on the housing; a first coil disposed onthe bobbin and configured to move the bobbin in a first direction by aninteraction with the magnet; a base disposed under the bobbin andcomprising an upper surface and a side surface; an upper elastic membercoupled to an upper portion of the bobbin; a circuit board disposed onthe base and comprising a second coil facing the magnet; and a supportmember electrically connecting the upper elastic member and the circuitboard, wherein the support member is configured to support the housingwhen the housing moves in a direction perpendicular to the firstdirection by an interaction between the magnet and the second coil,wherein the support member comprises: a first coupling portion coupledto the upper elastic member; a second coupling portion coupled to thebase; and a connecting portion connecting the first coupling portion andthe second coupling portion.
 2. The lens moving apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the circuit board comprises: an upper member disposedon the upper surface of the base; and a side member connecting the uppermember and disposed on the side surface of the base, wherein the sidemember of the circuit board comprises a terminal.
 3. The lens movingapparatus according to claim 2, wherein a through hole is formed at aportion where the upper member and the side member are connected witheach other.
 4. The lens moving apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe second coil is formed at the circuit board.
 5. The lens movingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support member and the upperelastic member are coupled with a conductive adhesive.
 6. The lensmoving apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a first positionsensor and a second position sensor disposed on the base and disposedbelow the circuit board.
 7. The lens moving apparatus according to claim1, wherein the base comprises a first recess for receiving the firstposition sensor and a second recess for receiving the second positionsensor.
 8. The lens moving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theside member of the circuit board comprises a first side portion and asecond side portion opposite to the first side portion.
 9. The lensmoving apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a circuit memberdisposed on the circuit board, wherein the second coil comprises a coilpattern formed at the circuit member.
 10. The lens moving apparatusaccording to claim 1, comprising a lower elastic member coupled to alower portion of the bobbin.
 11. The lens moving apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the support member comprises a wire shape.
 12. The lensmoving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support member iselectrically connected to the first coil.
 13. The lens moving apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein a current is applied to the first coilthrough the upper elastic member and the support member.
 14. The lensmoving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support member andthe upper elastic member are made of a metal material.
 15. The lensmoving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support membercomprises four support members disposed to be symmetrical to each other.16. The lens moving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the terminalcomprises a plurality of terminals electrically connected with thesupport member.
 17. The lens moving apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the magnet comprises four magnets disposed on four corners ofthe housing.
 18. A lens moving apparatus comprising: a housing; a bobbindisposed in the housing; a magnet disposed on the housing; a first coildisposed on the bobbin and configured to move the bobbin in a firstdirection by an interaction with the magnet; a base disposed under thebobbin and comprising an upper surface and a side surface; an upperelastic member coupled to an upper portion of the bobbin and an upperportion of the housing; a circuit board disposed on the base; a secondcoil facing the magnet and comprising a patterned coil formed at thecircuit board; and a support member electrically connecting the upperelastic member and the circuit board, wherein the circuit boardcomprises an upper member disposed on the upper surface of the base, aside member disposed on the side surface of the base, and a terminalformed at the side member and a through hole formed at a portion wherethe upper member and the side member are connected with each other, andwherein the support member is configured to support the housing when thehousing moves in a direction perpendicular to the first direction by aninteraction between the magnet and the second coil.
 19. A camera modulecomprising: a lens moving apparatus according to claim 1; and an imagesensor mounted on the lens moving apparatus.
 20. A portable devicecomprising: a display module including a plurality of pixels; and thecamera module according to claim 19.